Watching William Grow Up

Mae Walker- First month pics

2009-11-15T19:31:00.001-05:00

Finally here are some pictures of Sweet Mae Walker. She is such a little doll baby—rarely cries and has such a sweet way about her. I will update more this week.

Mae Walker sleeps through the night

2009-10-04T08:12:00.002-04:00

She slept through the night last Monday night (3 days before she was 8 weeks old) from 10:30 until 7:30. Since then she has been waking up around 5 or 6, but going back down after she eats and getting up between 7:30 and 8. She is such a sweet little girl and is a great sleeper. I am going to try to cut out the 10 o'clock feeding soon and see what she does at night.

Mae Walker Milliken

2009-08-06T21:47:00.000-04:00

Sweet Baby Mae Walker Milliken arrived Thursday, August 6th at 7:10 p.m. She weighed 8lbs 1oz. and is 19 1/2 inches long. She is one sweet little girl!!! Pictures to come but in the meantime, go to the link on the left Dad's photos and click on gallery to view pictures of Mae Walker's birth day.
We are so excited to be a family of 4 and to welcome little Mae Walker to the world. Walks and I thought it was a girl...but who knew that we would be right. We love you Mae Walker!!!!

18 and 19 month update

2009-08-05T10:34:00.007-04:00

Sweet Baby William is growing up so fast!!! These past few months have shown lots of changes in your age. We finally say a good handful of words including: please (peas), Mimi, Grandaddy, Hannah, Hunter, Amanda, Haley, Gigi, banana (nana), baby, TV (chi chi), milk, juice, bath (ba), go go go, nose, toes and I'm sure I'm forgetting many more. You understand just about everything we say to you and if we give you a task, you usually will do it unless you are being stubborn and ignoring us (which often happens if the TV is on). You love to help us and as Pam says, you are such the pleaser and very sharp. Although you have a limited vocabulary, you can still point and mumble at things that you want and we usually can figure out what it is that you want.
You have grown a ton of hair over the past few months and actually had your first haircut. It was just a one snip cut to get that long curl on the back of your head evened up with the rest of your hair. Your hair is still a dark blonde color and has grown in a lot, but I still wonder what your hair will be like--curly, wavy, or if it will grow out and not curl at all.

You still love to be held by most anybody, but especially your Mama. It has been tougher to hold you as the end of the pregnancy is approaching!

We put you in the big boy bed right at 18 months and you loved it. You stayed in there for at least 2 weeks before you discovered how to crawl out and call "Mama" as you walked into my bedroom. The first time was quite a shock and we went through a week of putting you back in bed at nap and bedtimes. But with Baby #2 on the way, we decided to put you in the pack 'n play in your bedroom until we decide you understand what we mean when we tell you to stay in bed. As long as you have loveys and a pillow, I think you're happy!

You are still so very loving most of the time...love to give hugs, kisses, be held, snuggle and lie your head down on our shoulders when you're the slightest bit tired. You take one nap a day at Pam's and you still take two naps a day when you are with us. That will be cut down to one nap very soon!

We love you to pieces Sweet William and can't wait for the next 5 months when you will be 2 already--wow time flies! We love you!

Edisto Beach Trip- May 2009

2009-07-21T21:33:00.006-04:00

We went to Edisto back in May for a long weekend and here are the pics from the trip.

William

Grady
Emory Anne

The Beach Set-Up

William diggingWilliam loved pushing around this tricycle

William and Daddy

William and Grandaddy

Gene & Grady, Grandaddy & William

Reverting back to crawling...silly boys. Of course one has to always copy the other!

Hannah, Emory Anne, Grady & William on the porch swing

The Boys

More Edisto Beach pics- May 2009

2009-07-21T21:26:00.001-04:00

36 week Baby Update

2009-07-21T21:04:00.005-04:00

I'm not even sure the last time I posted about this pregnancy, but it has really flown by. But I can tell you that I am also VERY ready to have this baby. I am writing this at almost 37 weeks, but this is the last picture I have of my baby bump profile and it was taken on July 4th (34 weeks). Having William has really made this pregnancy seem tougher to me than the first. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the high demands of William like holding him most of the time we're together. He still goes to Pam's everyday, but when we have time together, he wants to be held and have my full attention. That may also be one of the reasons I have not gained as much weight with this pregnancy. I've gained a total of 23 pounds this time where at 37 weeks with William, I had gained at least 35 pounds.
We only have 3 weeks left and can't wait to meet the newest member of the Milliken family! Come on Baby Milliken #2!!!

16 and 17 month update

2009-05-18T15:02:00.011-04:00

So, Baby William, you are not quite the baby anymore! You are growing up so fast, it's hard to believe how time flies.

You love to play outside, but are just as content inside if you have a toy or something to play with. Everyday I pick you up after work and we go home and let Willie out of the pen, have snack, juice and playtime.

You love to brush your hair, teeth, clean your ears or do anything hygienic! You look like such a big boy when you have your hair brushed (which just started to get longer).

You are still not a talker- you have your own language which means nothing to me, but you certainly no how to tell us what it is you want. That finger comes in handy since you can't get the words out. You also know exactly what we are saying and are an excellent listener. Most of the time you will do anything we ask you to do and love to be a helper. I know this will come in handy when your new brother or sister arrives in a few months!

I started to put you on the sofa every now and then to get you to wind down and stop playing before bedtime. Although it seems like lately we have been so busy most nights and we get home and you are so tired you go straight to bed. We have spent a lot of time with Mimi & Grandaddy and also been with our cousins, Haley, Emory Anne and Grady.

One of your many times enjoying ice cream...there isn't much you won't eat, but I can tell you that you love ice cream!

Thanks to hanging out with Mimi and Grandaddy so much, they really got you interested in airplanes. You like to hang out in the yard and look for planes flying over and will watch them until they are out of site.

You started to get interested in sunglasses and love to play with ours so we got you your own pair. These lasted a week or so until you got frustrated with them and literally ripped them off. You will definitely let us know if you don't like something. We know what that little whiney, cry means that you throw out from time to time.

Afternoon snack time-you love your juice and crackers!

You learned how to water the plants and flowers outside from your Dad--and you do love to help him water! As soon as he is finished watering, he lets you hold the hose and you walk around like you are the one doing all of the watering.

Your hair has really started to grown in these past few months and we should have known you were going to have curly hair! That little duck tail of a curl is too cute. On a humid day, you have curls all over your head.Relaxing at the beach...We had a fun time at the beach in the beginning of May and I know you can't wait to go back soon. You were apprehensive of the waves and water at first, but once your Daddy took you to the water and sat with you in the breakers, you were in love. If you grow up to be anything like you Dad, you will LOVE the water!You have started to play with Hannah's baby dolls and strollers, which is pretty cute. You talk to them like they are your babies. Mimi thinks we need to buy you one and I think you can just play with Hannah's when you're with her. Maybe you'll have a sister that will have baby dolls and strollers! :)
You still have a very sweet demeanor and love to give hugs, blow kisses, lay your head down on a shoulder and be held! You are quite demanding for our attention when it's just you, me and Daddy--you could be held every minute and be so content. We can't imagine life without your fun, funny, precious, wild, silly, loving self!!!

We love you so so much Sweet William!

Happy Birthday Walks!!!

2009-05-12T15:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband and great Daddy!!!

Easter Day

2009-04-14T11:22:00.005-04:00

We started out Easter morning going to church at Shandon Methodist- just me, Grandaddy and William. We didn't take William to the nursery, but instead he made it through half the service and I was there for almost the entire service. He and Grandaddy walked around outside and looked at all of the pretty flowers on the cross and then even put some on the cross. We got home about 10 o'clock and William does what he does best- read! He loves to read, but especially with his Grandaddy!

Now I would like to read that one please.
We took a break after reading and before a little nap to open his Easter basket. The most important things in the basket were his new ball and 6 new books.

After nap, we headed to Nana and Grandad's for lunch and enjoyed a nice Easter lunch with the fam (minus Hunter, Amanda and Hannah). We did end up meeting up with them later at Gene and Haley's for a little Easter Egg hunt for Emory Anne, Grady, Hannah and William. The kids always have fun playing in the Bell's back yard--it's full of toys, swing set and I think most importantly, a sand box. William actually understood what we were doing and he went around and collected eggs for his basket. Next year, he will be fully prepared while his younger brother or sister just sits around not knowing how much fun Easter really is!

This was William's first Easter that he actually was visited by the Easter Bunny and enjoyed the day with family and friends. One day he will actually understand what Easter really means and how important it is to us to celebrate this day!

The boy loves to read

2009-03-31T13:39:00.002-04:00

Thank you

2009-03-31T13:04:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Amanda Thomas, the blog is back to normal. YAY!!!!

Trying to fix the blog

2009-03-27T13:12:00.002-04:00

I know none of my links work and things look different...I completely messed up the blog and am trying to fix it. Hopefully will get this done over the weekend. I'm going cross-eyed trying to figure out this html code...awful!

14 and 15 month update

2009-03-18T12:08:00.005-04:00

Happy 15 months Sweet William!

It's been 2 months since I've posted about you--that's what happens when I don't feel so hot because of Baby #2 and I have been without a camera for too long!

You are still as sweet and loving as ever, but there is a side to you that we don't want to cross. You are starting to have your moments that if you don't get your way, you will lie down on the floor and/or cry. We have to leave you alone to get you to realize that it is not your way or the highway.

You still have that baby look (probably because you still don't have hardly any hair with the exception of a few curls in the back that are going to hit mullet status soon) and I love it! I know with you becoming a big brother in a few months, you will have to grow up fast. So while you are our one and only, I am glad to enjoy all of the moments and glad you still seem like our baby to me.
You have started to wake up earlier these past few months. You used to sleep from 7:30 until 8 and now you sleep from 7 to 7. Actually, no matter what time we put you to bed, you start to stir around 7. We leave you in there to play for a good 30 minutes which sometimes leads to TOUGH mornings. You have been known to throw yourself around the crib when I come in to get you because I have really made you wait too long. We are working on getting in there when you are still babbling and talking and not whimpering for us to come get you.

Your words include: Mama, Dada, Juice and that's all I can make out right now. But I know that you understand just about everything we say. And you will also let us know when you want something by pointing and saying oooh, oooh, oooh. We get it, but it will be nice once you start to tell us in words what it is you want.

You still eat pretty much everything we give you- favorites still being pot roast, applesauce, chicken, yogurt, most fruit and of course anything sweet!
You love to have a snack in the afternoon-favorite being goldfish.

At your 15 month check-up yours stats were:
Weight- 23 lbs 10 oz- 35th percentile
Height- 29 inches- 5th percentile
Head- ???- 10th percentile

You run around like a wild man and love being able to keep up with us as we walk around the house. You have really started to pay more attention to the television which is of course good and bad. It can save us in a pinch to let you watch Mickey Mouse or something else and we really try to let you watch these shows Saturday mornings. We usually have a special breakfast of cinnamon rolls, or something else we bake and watch cartoons. I love that time we have together. Below is one Saturday morning you just let me hold you for a good 15 minutes with your head down and we just loved on each other. Those are the times I don't want to forget about because they are few and far between with you on the move.

Happy 15 months Baby William--I love you!

Finally some recovered pics

2009-03-18T11:52:00.004-04:00

Snow day ...

Just loving William...

New Years Eve at Debordieu...William and T LOVED jumping on the bed and falling into all the pillows...

When you leave the back door open...

Visit from NYC Carrie a day or two before Christmas...

Loving William...

Good morning!!!

18 week ultrasound

2009-03-18T11:46:00.003-04:00

Here we are at almost 19 weeks pregnant and we had our "big" ultrasound yesterday. We were excited to see Baby #2 and to report that everything looks healthy. I love this appointment because it eases my mind about anything that could be wrong and everything looks so right! He or she was all over the place moving around and she wasn't able to get the best pictures, but they are good enough for me. Baby's heart rate was 144 and my weight gain to date is 3 lbs. All looks good and now I'm just ready to look pregnant because I definitely feel it!!! We are still due August 13th, so we will just have to wait and see what it is until then :)

D40

2009-03-11T13:02:00.002-04:00

My new D40 has arrived and is ready to take photos...will update blog soon. YAY!!!!

13 month update

2009-02-08T09:59:00.005-05:00

During William's thirteenth month, we had lots of things to celebrate including Baby Milliken #2's first ultrasound, Christmas, New Years at the beach with cousins, visits from friends and many other great times. The only pictures I have to show are the ones below...reason why later.

William took his first steps on his own 2 days before he turned 13 months old. And is since walking all over the place! William you: are a little ball of fire, are so sweet, usually listen very well, love your Grandparents to death, play so well with Hannah, are an eating machine, love to read, have 8 teeth, take 2 naps a day, wear size 12 months clothes, give kisses on command, love dessert, take your socks off when you are shoeless, are my sweet baby boy!!!!

Baby Milliken #2

2009-01-06T15:15:00.002-05:00

I'm sure most of you know by now, but just in case you haven't heard the news, Walks and I are expecting Baby Milliken #2 in August. We are super excited and anxious for his or her arrival. I just can't believe that I am going to have babies 20 months apart! We are in for a ride, I know!
Can't wait to meet you Baby #2!!!

December 18, 2008

2008-12-19T11:31:00.000-05:00

Here are the events of William's actual birthday.
We had to wake William up at 8:30 on his birthday--he's usually up around 8:00 but he must have known to sleep in because it was his special day.
So happy to see Mama, Daddy and Willie. He loves to see everybody in the morning!

Here is one of the two loveys that William loves to sleep with. I'm surprised he wasn't holding both of them, but he was just too excited that morning!Breakfast time: pizza. We figured it was his birthday and that pizza would be a good treat. He loved it!

Pizza, cheerios and applejuice for birthday breakfast.

Since William's birthday party wasn't until the 20th, I decided to bake cupcakes for William to have on his real birthday. Testing it out to see if he'll like it.

He couldn't get enough of it!

He would have eaten all of them if we had let him!

Time to open birthday presents. William got a toy doggie from Aunt Susan and Uncle Rick that was too cute. He did have a great 1st birthday and we loved celebrating with just the three of us that night. Happy happy birthday!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet William!

2008-12-18T14:06:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy! It's so hard to believe you are 1 year old today. I love you to pieces!!!!

One Year Old- Your life in pictures from 0-12 months

2008-12-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures from our last 12 months with Sweet William.

I look forward to our next year together. We will encounter many new adventures together as a family and I am so excited about what your next year has to bring us.
We love you William, Mom and Dad

Boston family comes for a visit

2008-12-02T12:18:00.004-05:00

We were lucky enough to have a visit from Julie and Rob from Boston a few weeks back. They came down to visit with Nana and Grandad, but stayed with us for the weekend. Here are a few pictures from our Sunday lunch at Laurel Crest.

Rob, Julie, Nana and Grandad

The family (we're missing Dave, Uncle Pete and Aunt Mary Ann)

Nana getting kisses from William

We are so glad to have spent some time with our Boston family and look forward to meeting Baby Tyler sometime next year after his or her arrival in April!

Christmas Tree Shopping

2008-12-01T14:03:00.003-05:00

Grandaddy, William and I went Christmas Tree shopping Sunday morning. Mimi was at church and Walks was in Arkansas. I hope that we can continue to enjoy our Christmas Tree shopping tradition every year. William enjoyed touching some of the trees as we strolled by, now we just hope he doesn't try to pull ours down once we get it put up! Last year the Christmas tree fell down about a week before William arrived...Haley says your tree only falls down once in your life, so we must have a lifetime pass now! William is very generous when he "gives a kiss"...you might get a wet one!

Our Christmas tree...

William being silly and shy.

Thanks for our Christmas tree Grandaddy- I'm excited about spending the holidays with the entire family!!!

Sweet William and his overalls

2008-12-01T13:53:00.002-05:00

Precious William

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T13:45:00.001-05:00

We had a very low-key, fun Thanksgiving with both mine and Walks' families. We spent the morning making Macaroni and Cheese for Woodcreek with the Millikens and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. William slept through most of it for his nap, but he needed it to make it through the rest of the day. Walks, William, Mom, Dad and I had lunch with Nana and Grandad at Laurel Crest. William loved his Thanksgiving Day lunch!!!
From Laurel Crest, we headed to Woodcreek to have lunch with the Milliken and ate around 3:00. By 4:30, we were all tired and headed back home for a relaxing Thanksgiving night. Walks left early Friday morning to head to Arkansas and won't be back until late Monday night.
I look forward to next year's Thanksgiving when William can enjoy more of the food and tradition. I am so thankful for all of my family that we are able to spend the day with. We truly are blessed!

11 Month Update

2008-11-18T15:05:00.010-05:00

Sweet William, You are 11 months old now! It is so fun to watch you progress and learn new things every day. You have conversations that I'm sure mean something to you, but I can't make out anything you are saying. We still hear Dada a lot, but I'm not sure if you have ever said it knowing that you were looking or asking for your Daddy. Mama is still not on the radar, but I think you said DOG the other day. It sounded more like Daaa, but pretty sure you were referring to Willie. You get more excited to see us each morning, but you really love to see Willie. You love his kissed, but if you wake up "on the wrong side of the bed" you don't want any kisses from him!

We love to get you laughing as hard as we can and it was hard to resist playing rough with you when you were in just your diaper the other night (bath time). We had you dying laughing. It's the cutest, deepest laugh--from the pit of your belly!

You really love to lie down in my lap and lean back as far as you can, sit yourself up and repeat. Not sure why you like that perspective, but it gives me a chance to see the progress of your top 4 teeth. Two of them are on the verge of breaking through. Your third tooth came in a few days ago and its on the bottom. You have been quite the fuss-pot at times and I'm hoping it has to do with all of these teeth that are about to pop through.

You still go to Aunt Pam's house everyday from 9:30 until 4:30 and I think you must play hard while you're there. As soon as we get home and I try to put you down to play, you immediately cry to be picked back up. I should realize that you haven't seen me all day and just want some quality Mama time, but it makes cooking/organizing/washing/unloading very difficult. The best thing to do is to give you lots of hugs and kisses and carry you around (all 22 lbs!) until I can get you in your highchair for snack and supper. The best time to play in the evening is after your supper, bath and bottle. We let you get a good 30 minutes in before you go to bed at 7:30. You really started to pull up with no struggles this month and cruise all of the furniture to get around. You will let go and stand for a couple seconds before you either grab back on or gently fall down. It will be no time before we see one of those "first steps" I'm sure.

I love you in those cute OshKosh overalls...you really look so grown up when you wear them.

Your Daddy likes to take you and Willie for a walk a few mornings a week. We get you all suited up and ready for the cold weather. You spend so much time with your Daddy in the mornings and you are just as happy to be with him as you are me. I love the quality time you have together!

I made you this blanket and absolutely love it! Daddy accidentally (oops is a word you hear a lot around Daddy!) let it hang out of the stroller and the wheel burned a big hole in it. I still plan to use this blanket as your "strolling" cover and will make another as soon as I finish your first longall that I started over a month ago. Your Aunt Bebe is in the process of helping me get my tail in gear and get it made before you outgrow this Size 1/12 month longalls.

I have finally made the transition from the sink to the bathtub and you love it! You would stay in the tub for hours if I let you playing with your bathtub toys.

This is your super excited happy smile showing us your two teeth. A few more are almost about to pop through on the top and bottom.

This is your Daddy taking you to Emory Anne and Grady's house for a Halloween party. You were a cute little puppy dog and didn't mind wearing the outfit at all.

When we're at home, you melt if Daddy or I leave the room and leave you alone. You love for us to watch and play with you. If we are at Mimi and Grandaddy's house, you are typically fine the minute we walk in the door and know that whoever is there will be just as much fun as we are! Mimi has so many fun toys for you to play with and Grandaddy is like your built-in human toy.
You are sleeping from 7:30 p.m. until 7:30 or 8:00 a.m.
You are drinking around 16 ounces of formula a day and those 16 ounces are tough to get you to take. You still love all kinds of food, but don't really care for baby food anymore.
I love you tons Baby William!!!

Mary Duffie Marzagao

2008-11-18T14:10:00.003-05:00

Sarah Preston, Marwan and Sally welcomed Mary Duffie Marzagao into the world on November 7th at 7:46 a.m. weighing in at 7lbs 7 oz.
I went for a visit when she was one week old. She had a head full of black hair is as precious as can be.

She has been a very sweet baby so far and is eating and sleeping like you want a baby too--every 3 hours. We went back for a visit this morning and sweet Mary Duffie was sound asleep.

Halloween Party

2008-11-18T12:05:00.005-05:00

Haley, Gene, Emory Anne & Grady hosted a wonderful Halloween party for all of the children at their house. They had everything set up just right: the jump castle for the children, a blanket with toys for the younger kids and cupcakes and snacks galore!
Gene took all of the children for a hayride around the streets of Forest Acres...they loved it! Here are our little munchkins below:

William the puppy dogMost of the group- Back row: Sally, Sarah Preston, Walks, Lesesne and Tombo
Front row: Gene, me, William, Haley, Grady, Will, Emory Anne, T, Addie, Brie, Hannah and Amanda
Gigi and Grady the Monkey

Me and Emory Anne
William and Lesesne the Ladybug

T the turtle

Sally the cutie in the pumpkin dress

Loading up for the hayride

William and Grady with Mimi and Gigi

Thanks for a wonderful party Haley and Gene!!! We look forward to next years :)

"Puppy Dog" makes his Halloween rounds

2008-11-17T14:22:00.000-05:00

On Halloween night William trick or treated at two different places. One was Casey's house and he loved taunting Rosebud and seeing his Aunt Casey! :)

The other was at Gabe and Lauren's house and we so appreciate them including us in the "Halloweeze" party!

He then spent the night with his Mimi so I could spend an evening with a few friends.

Me, Case and William

Me and William at the "Halloweeze" Party

I look forward to next year's Halloween when William can enjoy dressing up and maybe even pick out his costume!

William's growth

2008-11-13T14:46:00.004-05:00

William at 1 week old 10 1/2 months old

I love you cutie boy!!!!!

Playing with the cousins

2008-11-13T13:58:00.002-05:00

It's quite normal for Anna and I to get together for supper at her house if Walks and Tombo are out and about doing what they do in the woods...here are a few pictures of the children from a couple weeks ago.

William holding onto Lesesne's walker--she's getting so big and William is now holding on to everything he can just to stand up.

Lala- 7 months old
T- 27 months old

Watch out T, they're catching up with you!

Visit with Nana & Grandad

2008-11-13T13:21:00.003-05:00

William spent some time with my Nana and Grandad a few weeks back and put on a great show for them. He crawled like a crab and talked up a storm. We have since been back for a lunch visit, but here are a few photos from awhile back.

William is so lucky to know his Great-Grandparents and I am so blessed that we grew up so close to them. I have memories from spending weekends at Nana and Grandad's while we were growing up. I now realize why we spent so much time over there- because I know how much my parents love to be with William and Hannah! We ate Sunday lunches at Nana's every week and we still try to get out to see them now as much as our schedules will allow. We love Nana and Grandad so much and look forward to all of our visits with them!

Edisto Beach October 2008

2008-10-27T21:16:00.005-04:00

We just got back from a great trip down to Edisto with Mimi, Grandaddy, Hunter, Amanda, Hannah, Pete, Mary Ann, Poopie and Patti. I didn't leave the house except for a few walks I took--so we totally relaxed and took advantage of having lots of hands to help out! Thanks everyone for the making the weekend so enjoyable. It was great to see our family from Virginia and Poopie and Patti who we hadn't seen in almost a year!

Here are a few shots compliments of Grandaddy...

We look forward to our next Edisto Beach trip and to seeing both Pete & Mary Ann and Poopie & Patti in December at our separate family gatherings!!!

10 Month Update

2008-10-19T20:43:00.007-04:00

Sweet William you are already 10 months old--and everyday is better than the one before!!! It's so hard to believe how much you have grown up this past month. You have started to "talk" a lot more. You don't say any words that we can understand, but you certainly like to imitate sounds and noises that we make. You will have your own little conversation and I'm sure you know what you mean, but we don't have a clue! But it is oh so cute :)

You and your Dad have spent a lot of time together this month- especially since he is the one that puts you to bed at night. Our routine is to finish the bottle around 7:30 or so (which is sometimes impossible to get you to take) and then Walks puts you in the sleep sack, gives you paci and lovey and reads 2 or 3 stories. I love that you have this time to be together one on one...and I think you both love it too!

Walks always wants to take pictures of you and I don't mean one or two, but more like 15 or 20- in a 1 minute time period!!! Here is one that he took with you wearing one of my athletic headbands. Looks like you're about to do aerobics--in the eighties!

Here you are on the guest bed where you used to stay put, those days are long gone!

Pajama time for Mama and the Baby Boy. You and Dad before bathtime. You are still bathing in the kitchen sink...your real bathtub days are coming soon, I promise!
You are starting to love your big activity cube toy. Especially now that you can pull up on it! Your favorite toys are the ball blowing machine, the tractor pulling the wagon (probably because it's the only toy we have with wheels) and your favorite is this little cloth fishing rod--you will come crawling as fast as you can if we show you this toy!
Just in the past two weeks have you really started to pull up on everything. You pretty much have it mastered and are very tough when you fall and hurt yourself. You give one good whimper and then realize that you're not going to get any attention so you get over it!
You are an absolutely great eater! You haven't spit out anything we've given you at first bite. You do get tired of something and will swat at the spoon indicating you are finished with it. Your breakfast foods include french toast, yogurt, oatmeal, nutrigrain bar, cheerios and pretty much any fruit. Your lunch is still jar baby food to keep things easy for Aunt Pam. When you're home with us during lunch you eat anything we feed you which is typically what you would have for supper. Supper food includes grilled cheese, peas, rotisserie chicken, applesauce, noodles, macaroni & cheese, chicken tenders, deli meat and vegetables. You enjoyed barbecue over the weekend--you truly will eat ANYTHING!You have gotten the concept of the juice cup down pretty well and really love to have juice at mealtimes. Here is you after we left you with the entire nutrigrain bar (cut up in small pieces, but with no assistance)...
You are still the best sleeper--at least 12 hours at night. Here you are cuddled up on your lamby with your other two loveys by your side during naptime.
You crawl like a crab with your hiney in the air. Occasionally you will get down on your knees, but we usually seeing you crab/monkey crawling!
We're on our way to school at Aunt Pam's- you seem to love riding in the car!
This is the first month that we really can tell you will have curly hair. There isn't much hair back there, but what you do have is very fuzzy/curly/flipped out. Still don't know what color it will be yet.

Your typical day is:
7:45-8ish- Wake up
8:00- struggle to change your diaper
8:15- breakfast
8:30- playtime
9:00- 7 oz. bottle that usually takes 20-30 minutes to take
10:15-11:45- nap
12:00- lunch
12:30- 7 oz. bottle
2:15-4:00- nap
5:30- suppertime
6:00- bathtime
7:00- 7 oz. bottle that takes awhile to get down!
7:30-8ish reading and bedtime

We look forward to seeing you grow even more over the next month. We love you to pieces little boy!!!! Happy 10 months old William! Love, Mom and Dad

Moxon family visit in August

2008-10-01T14:43:00.002-04:00

Uncle Pete and Aunt Mary Ann came to visit in August for a quick night and here are a few photos from their visit.

Hannah, William and "Great Aunt Mary Ann" Great Uncle Pete and William
Hannah was squeezing on her Baby William
Somebody was funny...they have those half smiles on their faces!!!

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us Mary Ann! We look forward to your next visit to South Carolina!

G-Daddy and Annie's House

2008-10-01T14:29:00.004-04:00

This is from my 30th birthday a few weeks ago when we had all the children together at G & Annie's house for dinner. They tried to wrangle the masses for a picture and this was as good as we got! G holding William and Annie holding T and Lesesne. Lesesne and T smiling at each other :)

Grandaddy's Edisto Beach Photos

2008-10-01T14:16:00.005-04:00

William and Grandaddy Emory Anne and Grady
The fam: Hunter, Hannah, Amanda, Caroline, William, Walks, Mimi and Grandaddy

Grady and Gigi
Haley and Grady
Mama and William
Hunter, Hannah and Amanda

Thanks for taking these great pictures while we were in Edisto this summer. We love you Grandaddy!!!

Congratulations Julie and Rob!!!

2008-10-01T14:13:00.002-04:00

We are so excited to hear the news that Hannah and William will have a new 2nd cousin to play with next April. We can't wait to meet Baby Tyler!!!!! Congratulations :)
Love,
Caroline, Walks & William
(it's in pink b/c that's my prediction) :)

8 and 9 month old update

2008-09-18T21:57:00.003-04:00

This post will include William's updates from the past two months. He has really grown physically and intellectually (that makes it sound like I'm saying he's smart, but I just mean he's really figuring things out).
-He makes the sound babababa all the time, but he also started to say dadadada at about 8 1/2 months old. No sign of mama yet. But that's fine--he can love on his Daddy all he wants!!! He started saying nananana on Friday (right at 9 months).
-He sits up on his own--I think he mastered that right at 8 months. He started puffs at about 8 months and started to eat [adult] food about two weeks ago (8 1/2 months) which have included: deli meat, pot roast, shredded cheese, sliced cheese, yogurt, grits, carrots, bananas, mandarine oranges, blueberries (didn't like), brown rice and tomatoes.
-His hair really started to come in at 8 months; we still can't tell what color it will be or the texture, but if we had to guess it looks like it will be a mix of blonde/brown and curly.
-He started crawling good at 8 1/2 months. It's more of a "crab crawl" than anything, but he can get anywhere now! If I leave the den to go to into the kitchen or laundry room to do something, he'll follow me, crying the whole way. He expects our undivided attention at all times and that is tough!
-He knows what we mean when we say to give us a kiss. He will lean in and open his mouth. Not quite the kiss we want, but at least he understands the concept.
-He had a good doctor's appointment on Friday where his doctor told us to start the sippy cup (which we have tried since about 8 months but he hasn't really gotten it yet).

His stats are:
Weight: 20lbs 2oz. (45th percentile)
Height: 27" (20th percentile)
Head: 17" (15th percentile)
It figures that he's not very tall...we would be shocked if he was!
Below are some of my favorite pictures from the past 2 months:

Grady and William

Bathtime (still use the sink and our bathtub was at Mimi and Grandaddy's house)

First taste of ice cream...loved it!Starting to get into things that have wheels...

William loves Willie

Loves to bite his aquarium and it's not even soft!
William loves his Grandaddy

He likes to chew on the snot-sucker...I try to make sure it's clean when he does this, but I'm sure he's had a taste of his own snot!

Big cheeks!!! Like I said...the snot-sucker is a great toy!

I LOVE THESE NEXT TWO PICTURES!!!!!

Happy 9 months William!!!!! Love, Mom and Dad

Mountains w/ T & Lesesne

2008-09-12T10:24:00.009-04:00

We went to the mountains (up above Lake Toxaway at Tuckaseegee) with Anna, Tombo, T & Lesesne back in August and had a very nice relaxing and cool weekend! The guys rode 4-wheelers a lot and the girls stayed at the house ate, drank and played the Mom role :)

T LOVED the 4-wheeler!We had lunch in Cashiers one afternoon and the food was great, but I think I picked up William's toy about 75 times.Aunt A & Lesesne T at lunch...was he eating sugar?!?!

Pretty much the way the house looked all weekend. We would clean this up and then when a child got up from a nap, it looked like this all over again.

Sweet William and Lesesne...William loves to go after her and try to kiss/lick/eat her!
Wonder what sort of life lesson Walks is teaching T?

The days of the infant carrier are almost over for Lesesne!

Lessons by Walks, part 2...

T's makeshift desk (this is supposed to hold dog food bowls)
T's almost 4 lb trout!
Loungin' on the blanket in the sun while mom and Aunt A drink a beer :)

Poo row...

Thanks for taking us to the mountains Aunt A and Uncle Tombo!!!

Edisto Beach July 2008

2008-08-20T14:33:00.007-04:00

We had our annual Edisto Beach trip the last week of July and as always had a great time. Things were a little different this year, as the Motes had their own house and they went the week before us. We knew that Haley, Virginia, Emory Anne and Grady were going to stay for a few days, but it turned out that we had Motes all week long! They (plus the kids) were having so much fun, that they stayed until the following Thursday and William stayed with us until we left Friday morning. William drove me and Baby William home on Friday as "big" William decided to serve me vodka starting at 3:00 Thursday afternoon, so by Friday morning, I was feeling rough!!!

Below are some various, random shots from the week: Walks showing us his dance moves on Friday night when we got there...you know the first night is always the biggest!Arthur's meat...a cooked a whole ribeye and a whole beef loin!
Hannah being hollywood
Emory Anne playing with the TONS of toys Hannah had at the beach!

Happy happy William
Emory Anne and Grady in their matching crab outfits...too cute!
WAM loves his Grandaddy! He can always get a good laugh out of William.
This is William floating in the baby pool we had set up on the deck that overlooked the ocean. Awesome set-up! If the beach was too much for the kids (or even the adults), we would load up in the baby pool :)
Lunchtime for Hannah, William and Emory Anne

William Mote came home from New York a few weeks ago and spent some time with us...he does NOT STOP! He can definitely be the life of the party :)
Jump jump William
Morning time with William and Uncle Hunter
Grady could sleep in that bouncy seat he loves it so much. He is the most laid back baby ever! With such a sweet little personality.
All the chullrin piled up with Grandaddy--what a great lap for some baby holding!

Edisto Beach 2008 proved to be what it always is for us: a relaxing, Grandparent loving, excellent food eating, lots of drinking, sun soaking time for all of us. Looking forward to '09!!!

7 months old

2008-07-18T11:06:00.000-04:00

This is going to be a quick 7 month update (seeing as he is getting close to 8 months):

Baby William is getting so big now! He learned how to sit up this month. It was like one day he didn't have a clue how to sit up and the next he could sit up for 30 minutes straight!

I think he and Lesesne have become friends at school and he was making eyes at her at the beach.

He still loves his bathtime and yes, I still bathe him in the kitchen sink. As long as he likes it, fits and doesn't cry, this suits me fine (I don't have to lean down-it's wondeful!). He either grabs the cup or the washcloth while we're bathing-he absolutely loves it!
Here he is holding his bottle so well.
The exersaucer became one of his favorite "stations" this month--he is entertained for a good 15-20 minutes in there.

Tried his first biter biscuit.
Precious smile!
Digging in the sand for the first time.

Things to note about the past month:
- He got his first cold

- Emory anne got him to belly laugh (all children can make him laugh WAY harder than he laughs for us)

- He sat up when he was about 6 1/2 months

- He rolls over and over again

- Got his first 2 teeth (of course the bottom two)

He is still the sweetest little boy- makes me want to take bites out of him when he smiles or laughs for us. Love you lots Baby William!!!

DeBordieu July 2008

2008-07-17T21:02:00.007-04:00

We had our second Milliken family beach trip of the summer and headed back down to DeBordieu. We only saw the beach one day--I guess that's what happens when you have three children to pack up, haul and get down to the beach. That one day though brought a lot of fun for T and William.

Annie and T having snack time.

My big boy sitting up, playing in the sand.
T wouldn't know what this world would be like without trucks or tractors--he LOVES trucks and tractors!!!
William got dirty in the sand- he loved it! He actually used the shovel to dig dirt and fling it in as many directions as he could.
William before we let him get dirty in the sand.
Anna and Lesesne
G and William
Sandy T
Lesesne
While we were down there we celebrated T's birthday on Monday, but he actually turned 2 on Tuesday, the 17th. Anna put together a nice little family birthday party for him and it was decorated in a John Deere theme--it was so cute!
Of course the biggest hit of the birthday party was when he got his Gator from Anna and Tombo.

While we were down there we also celebrated Anna and G Daddy's birthdays too. So happy birthday to ANNA, T and TOM!!!!

Fannie and William

2008-07-17T20:54:00.003-04:00

Fannie has been coming to my parents' house every Friday for the past 16 years. And Walks and I are lucky enough to have her every other Thursday. Fannie has watched me grow from a 13 year old teenager to a Mom and it has been so special for both of us to grow up together. She loves coming in the house to be greeted by Willie and she can't get her hands on William fast enough. I just wanted to put these pictures on here because Fannie will always be like family to us and we look forward to many more years of our sweet Fannie (and the clean house is a bonus for us). :)

McClellanville for the 4th

2008-07-17T20:35:00.004-04:00

We all headed to McClellanville for July 4th which is starting to become a family tradition. I think the purpose of the trip is to see how much we can pack up- head to McVille- eat, drink and hang out! We did absolutely nothing, but had a great time doing it.

Cool T

G Daddy loving on William

T moving in on Lesesne's play mat

T playing in William's exersaucer--he is so small he still fits in there!
Lesesne, T and William--cute cousins!
Walks had William in bed with him just giving him some love after a nap...picture below is how Walks had him bundled for the nap.
Cozy William

Brent Porter Yount

2008-07-01T09:53:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to Tricia and Adam who welcomed Porter into the world this morning at 6:41. he is 7lbs 4oz and 20 inches long. We can't wait to meet him!!!!
(she's supposed to send a picture today and I'll post it)

6 months old

2008-06-27T10:45:00.003-04:00

So little baby William isn't so little anymore- we have hit the 6 month mark! He is getting to be quite the little chatter box- doesn't say any recognizable sounds yet, but gargles, coos, etc. He still spits up some, but this month has been the biggest improvement so far.

William had his first swimming experience right before he turned 6 months and absolutely loved it. I can't wait to put him back in the water when we return to the coast 3 times in July!!! We are so lucky to be able to go to McClellanville, DeBordieu and Edisto throughout the year, but especially all three places in one month!
William starting really holding onto his feet this month. Here he is lying down on Walks lap, cooing at the big deer head and fan and holding his feet. They had a lot of morning time together and Walks has always given him his morning bottle, but with Walks' business really picking up and William being able to hold his own bottle, things are starting to change with the morning routine.

He spent the night with GrandAnne and G-daddy last week and I think they all had a great time! It was his first night with them and he slept until 8:15 the next morning!!! He hasn't slept past 7:00 for us in ages. GrandAnne has drapes that really make the room dark and since we didn't want to get new drapes for his nursery, we put a loud fan in his room and he's been sleeping until 7:30 or 8:00- yay! In theory that sounds good, but it was pushing his whole schedule back and that put his last bottle at night after 7:00. So we are trying to wake him up and get his morning bottle going around 7:30-7:45.

Typical happy sweet William.

William still likes to cover his face up when he gets tired and he sleeps with a lovey snuggled in close--it's super sweet and I think that is here to stay. We have 3 lovies- 2 elephants and the bunny.
He has started sitting in his high chair to eat now which makes him seem so much more grown up. He gets excited when he sees it because he knows he's about to eat! He is eating in the morning and at night (lunch is coming soon).But a few of the vegetables are not his favorite!

William's stats at 6 months:

Height- 26" (30th percentile)

Weight- 16 1/2 lbs (30th percentile)

Head- not sure, but 25th percentile

Sweet baby William, you still make me want to eat you daily with the cute noises, faces, expressions, reactions and your general sweet, laid back disposition. I love you to pieces!

Getting so big!

2008-06-27T10:37:00.002-04:00

William holds his own bottle now...I can't believe how grown up that makes him seem to me! He also started sitting in his high chair for his food meals this week (pictures to come later). He still loves his bouncy seat, but he almost touches the bed or counter when he sits in it--guess he's just about outgrown it!
Happy happy baby boy!

Takes my breath away...

2008-06-15T21:11:00.001-04:00

This is one amazing little boy...I LOVE YOU WILLIAM!!!!!

Trip to Debordieu

2008-06-15T20:54:00.005-04:00

We spent last Friday through Wednesday at the beach with the whole Milliken family, minus G-Daddy who is in Canada. We had a great time, but didn't see much of the beach with having three children to take care of. Saturday we saw the ocean for about 2 hours and the rest of the days we decided the pool would be much easier with the babies. We were about to hop on the golf cart with a beach bag, cooler, float and a few bouncy seats and hit the pool with ease. (Hauling chairs and umbrellas to the beach was not nearly as easy)!!! Tombo, Walks and William enjoying the pool.
William loved T's float that Anna brought us to use...I forsee many more uses out of it this summer.

Looked like we had a set of twins, but with William and Lesesne so close in age, it will appear that we have twins for many years to come!
Babies in the shade...
T loved the pool.
Lesesne in her stadium seat.
Here is William in a bed trap while I jumped in the shower :)

We had a great time at the beach and we know each time will become easier and more fun for all of us. We'll be back in July!!!

Hannah's 2nd Birthday Party

2008-06-04T21:33:00.005-04:00

Hunter and Amanda hosted a wonderful party on Sunday for Hannah's 2nd birthday which was actually on Friday, the 30th. We all had a great time and were joined by all of Hannah's friends.
Hannah is loving her baby William.
I tried to get Hannah to have a lick off of her birthday candle, but she was not going to have anything to do with that.
William's 2nd cousin Cole was giving him all kinds of love and kisses and William was eating it up! Emory Anne strikes a pose for us :)
Lesesne and Tombo...what a SWEET baby girl she is!!!!!
Birthday Girl

Hannah and Aunt Brit in her new playhouse.
T's 10 lb. diaper...this boy loves water and went straight in!
T ran naked after grabbing for his diaper a few times wondering what was hanging off the back of him!!!!

Busy Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T10:09:00.007-04:00

This Memorial Day was different from our past Memorial Days in that we didn't travel anywhere. We spent Friday night at home with Hunter, Amanda and Hannah stopping by for a visit. Then Haley and Grady showed up too...funny how those nights that you plan to do nothing always seem to turn into something a little more fun than you thought!

Saturday Mom, Dad and I spent the day getting things ready for William's Baptism on Sunday. Saturday night we went to Kristen and Drew's house for burgers and hung out with our usual crowd (both Bozards, Bells, Coffers and Kirks).

We had a nice lunch reception at Mimi and Grandaddy's house on Sunday after the Baptism for all the family, the Motes and the Bells. Mimi made some really pretty flower arrangements as usual. Below is the outside bar on the screened porch--Mimi and Grandaddy sure do know how to throw a party!

Here is the display of silverware (only Grandaddy and his photo geekness would take a picture of the silverware)...we enjoyed some fabulous food: grilled ham w/ horseradish, fried chicken, brown rice, butter beans, chopped salad, deviled eggs, sour cream/cheese biscuits, blondies, brownies and and petit fors. It was a downhome, comfort meal--delish!!!!
Everybody left the house mid afternoon and in typical Suggs fashion, the party cranked back up around 6:00 to celebrate Memorial Day and a Monday off! Let's see if I can remember everybody who came over Sunday night: Jeff, Kimberly & Virginia Grace, Hunter, Amanda & Hannah, Haley, Gene, Emory Anne & Grady, Tombo, Anna , T & Lesesne, Walks, me & WAM, Billy, Virginia & Benjamin and of course Mimi and Grandaddy!

Emory Anne & T got wet while they played with Hannah's little water pool table so they stripped down and ran around in their diapers!

They loved playing in the rocks...

T stood in the water like this for awhile...all three of the kids were soaking wet!!

Sweet baby LesesneWe had a great weekend and hopefully I'll have some more pictures to post later. What a great weekend we had. Thanks to Mimi and Grandaddy for letting enjoy their house so much!!!

5 months old

2008-05-18T11:07:00.000-04:00

Today my baby is 5 months old...and he has become more of an angel as every day passes. He is cooing in his crib right now after waking up from his morning nap. It is unusual for him to wake up crying; he's so sweet 23 1/2 hours out of the day! He is very attached to his lovies--we have 3 of them to keep in the rotation (we're always washing them, because he still spits up every day). This is what I found one day last week (almost 5 months old). I walked into his room to get him one morning and I saw his little head...he had flipped over and was on his tummy.This is my favorite time of the day--he loves it when Walks and I go in to get him in the mornings. We get the biggest smiles and of course this day we got even bigger smiles because we were making such a big deal out of him flipping over onto his tummy.
Looked a little like his mom and dad that morning...rough!
When I have William time on the weekends, we move from station to station as long as he is content. Last weekend we laid out this blanket and let him roll over, grab for toys, etc.

He's starting to get into his bumbo now. He can last about 15 minutes in it before he hits the wall and says get me out of this thing!
He has learned how to put his paci in by himself. He pulls it in and out all the time and now likes to chew on it. He's been drooling over the past few weeks and starting to chew on things, especially his hands. No sign of teeth yet, but maybe in the next month or so one will pop up.
Things to note:

- Had his first fever last Saturday--he didn't let him bother him too much though.

- Goes to bed around 7:30 p.m.

- Wakes up at 6:30 a.m. (instead of 7:00)

- Gets his medicine around 6:45 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

- Feeding schedule:

Bottle 7:30

Rice cereal and either pears, applesauce or bananas around 9:00 a.m.

Bottle 11:00

Bottle 3:00

Rice cereal and a veggie (if we're able to get him to eat, but not usually)

Bottle 6:30

- He does belly laughs now, but it takes some major work to get them.

- Found his feet, but doesn't play with them much yet.

- Plays in the exersaucer

- Sits in the bumbo

- Still loves his bouncy seat in the morning and also when he's eating if I'm too busy or rather too lazy to hold him.

He is really getting spoiled by his Mimi and Grandaddy. And he definitely knows who they are now. He LOVES to see them- they don't put him down and they oogle over him every minute they're together!

We love you so much baby William--happy 5 months!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

2008-05-11T09:08:00.001-04:00

Mother's Day

2008-05-10T21:35:00.004-04:00

Father/Son weekend in DeBordieu. Not only was I a little ticked about the weekend, but roughly 15 other mothers were affected by this too. Nice planning...

Murrells Inlet

2008-05-10T21:17:00.000-04:00

We got a phone call last Friday from King & Ashley inviting us to Murrells Inlet for the weekend---I quick put my "mom" hat on and threw as much as I could remember into the car for us to survive for the weekend. We were with King, Ashley and their baby Ellie, Carrie and Robert Pulliam and me, Walks and WAM. It worked out to be a great weekend and the weather was perfect!!! The guys went out on the boat Saturday morning and took a trip down to McClellanville for the shrimp festival. The girls stayed at the house with the babies and ventured out Saturday afternoon to DeBordieu to visit Harper, Christy and Ragen. Harper's little girl, Annie, was out there loving on William and Ellie. We took the babies out to the beach and after they got all slathered up with sunscreen, we got all settled into our seats and William started to cry for his bottle, the wind picked up and was pelting us. We moved up the pool and had a much more pleasant visit and time in the sun.

Ashley, Ellie and William

William checking out Ellie

King, Ellie and Ashley

Ashley and Carrie

Poor William wearing one of Ellie's hat's...we accidentally left ours inside!

Thank you again for such a wonderful trip to the beach!!!!

10 adults, 4 children---Edisto Beach April 2008

2008-05-10T20:37:00.001-04:00

Mom and Dad so graciously opened their house to us a few weeks ago down at the beach. It was Mom, Dad, Hunter, Amanda, Hannah, friends of their's- Lee and Mandy, Gene, Haley, Emory Anne, Grady, me, Walks and William. We had such a good time, especially watching Hannah and Emory Anne play together.

I know how tough it is to pack for a 4 month old for the beach, but Gene and Haley were lucky enough to figure out how to pack for 2 children! I think it took 4 adults to get their car packed to go hom, kids strapped in and out the driveway. Walks and I spent one extra night and relaxed with Mimi and Grandaddy and left Monday.

While we were there William slept in the pack n play in a closet--I assume this isn't too mean, right? I mean, that could be considered abuse once he's old enough to know where he is, but for now, we consider it out of the way.

Hannah and Emory Anne played perfectly together the whole time and William and Grady were little angels as usual. I can't wait for them to start playing together--it couldn't be any more convenient that we have boys that are practically the same age.

While we lay out on the beach, William enjoys the breeze on the gazebo.

Hunter reading to Hannah and Emory Anne

Mandy, Amanda and Lee
Walks and WAM
Gene and Grady
William waiting for Grandaddy to put the paci back in.

Grady in his papason chair...I think this is his favorite seat.

WAM
Grady and Williams first time on the beach.
Emory Anne & Haley
"Emmy Anne & Hannie"

4 months old

2008-04-20T21:14:00.009-04:00

Just a few days late, but WOW, my baby is 4 months old. Our precious Baby William is growing up so fast. Things to note about the last month:
- Stats:
24 1/2 inches (30th percentile)
13lbs 12ozs (30th percentile)
15 3/4 inches (25th percentile)
Although he looks big to me, I guess the numbers tell the truth!
- We switched from 5- 7oz bottles to 4- 8 oz bottles a day. Schedule is 7:30, 11:30, 3:30 then again at 7 or so. He's down between 8 and 8:30.
- Started to "talk" to us. When he's in a good mood he'll coo and mimic us if he's in a really good mood!
- Spit up has leveled off a little, but not much. We started 1/2 dose of Prevacid in a.m and 1/2 dose in p.m. about 3 weeks ago. It's helping, but there is room for improvement!
- Started taking a "lovey" when he was 3 1/2 months old. I noticed him grabbing for his burp cloth and decided it was time for a lovey when he was in bed. Now one lives at Pam's, one lives in the carrier and one lives in his crib. Our favorite is El...our cute blue elephant.
- He is into toys these days...something to hold onto. Our favorite is this Whoozit that I did not realize cost $16.99 until I checked my receipt later. We have gotten our money's worth, but as I drove down the highway back into town from Babies R Us, you better believe I was thinking of returning it. Glad I didn't- it's a good one!

- We have almost completely phased out this swing, but still catch a cat nap in it every so often:

- Loves to watch T.V. I have to admit that in the morning after his 7:30 bottle, we do put him in the bouncy seat on the coffee table and let him watch The Today Show. Probably not his show of choice, but it's our fave. He often looks from the T.V. to the mirror over our mantle to see the deer in the reflection or the fan. But like I said, LOVES the T.V.
- Goes to Pam's Monday thru Friday from roughly 9:30 to 4:30 (just until 2:00 on Friday's). She says he's a sweet boy, but as we know, spits up a lot. There is no rhyme or reason to a "good day" or a "bad day"- we just take each day and use as many bibs as we need to! I did a load a few weeks ago that was a Sunday and Monday worth of WAM clothes and there were 16 bibs in the load.
- Holds his head up ALMOST perfectly. There is still the occasional "flop" though :)
- He has started to look more like Walks the past month- still a good combo though. You be the judge, pictures of our angel below!!!

You are a sweet, precious boy and we can't wait for the next 4 months!!!

As the "family" grows...

2008-04-20T21:03:00.004-04:00

All together again...it's been awhile, but we had T, Emory Anne and Hannah all over last Saturday night. Of course this time, Lesesne, Grady and William were part of the crew. It was a very informal, WILD night with 8 adults and 6 children...wow, how quickly things change!

We loved spending the evening with everyone and look forward to our next gathering!

CiCi, Grady and Lesesne...what a dream to quietly hold two sweet, sleeping babies!

Gene and Tombo hopefully enjoying dinner.
Emory Anne, Hannah and T
Can you believe that they are almost two years old? They had a great time playing with each other and before we know it, Grady, Lesene and WAM will be right there with them!

Lesesne at home...

2008-04-20T20:51:00.001-04:00

A more recent pic than my last post, I will try to add more soon!

WAM Pics

2008-04-06T21:43:00.002-04:00

Here are some shots of William over the past 2 weeks. I will do some better updates later on this week, but here are a few pics so at least I can say I blogged!

I'm sad that my child has a bib on in almost every picture we take of him, but if photos are to catch moments as they are, than the bib is very appropriate. He is such the little spitter upper. Otherwise, he's my ANGEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lesesne pics

2008-03-25T07:44:00.003-04:00

Sweet sleeping girl...

Anne Lesesne Milliken

2008-03-20T15:35:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to Anna, Tombo and T on the birth of Anne "Lesesne" today at 11:51 a.m. She weighs 6lbs 15ozs and is 19 1/4 inches long. They are both doing great and Lesesne is just as precious as she can be. For those of you who are as confused as I was about the spelling, the phonetic spelling is "Lasane". How lucky and I to have gained a new boy and a new girl in my life in the past two days!!! William can't wait to meet his new baby girl cousin :)

Hopefully I will have more pictures to post tomorrow after I actually get to see Lesesne in person as opposed to through the glass!!!

Sweet Baby William

2008-03-19T18:08:00.001-04:00

Grady Dowling Bell

2008-03-19T14:40:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to Haley, Gene and Emory Anne on the birth of Grady who was born today at 12:37 p.m. He weighs 7 pounds and is 18 1/2 inches long. He is such a precious little boy and looks just like a Mote baby!!! William can't wait to meet his new friend. I see many fun, exciting times in our future. Should we be scared of these two boys?!?!?!

Proud Mama

Suckin' that paci...yeah!!!!

3 months old

2008-03-18T20:45:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's already been 3 months since we welcomed Sweet William to the world. It's hard to believe how fast time has flown by and how big our "little" boy is getting. Everyday Walks and I say how lucky we are to have such a healthy, happy baby--I mean, he is truly PERFECT in our eyes. Of course he has his moments, but for the most part, he's our sweet little angel.
He is really starting to respond this month. We are getting HUGE smiles out of him all day long and I think he already knows how to flirt! He knows when he's looking at a pretty girl- he lights up!
He was on the track to be a big baby, but I think he' s slowed down a little. I don't have anything to compare it to since this is our first, but I think he's average to a little bigger than average. He is wearing his 3-6 month clothes and will probably move to 6-9 in the next 6 weeks or so.

One big thing that he started this month is going to school! He goes to Aunt Pam (Walks' aunt) where he spends time with his cousin, T, and his soon to be other cousin (arriving Thursday!). I can't believe I didn't post this when it happened--it was a big day for all of us, but honestly, it wasn't hard at all. As I walked to the car that first morning, I felt like a bad Mom for feeling liberated as opposed to feeling sad. But I realize that my lifestyle is such that I enjoy my adult social interaction as much as I enjoy spending time with my baby. Of course I look forward to picking him up everyday and spending the rest of the night with him!
We put him down for bed at 8:30 (when he has hit a wall and can't stay awake any longer) and don't see him again until 7:00ish the next morning. I love going into his nursery every morning and watching his face light up when he sees his Mama!
This last picture is from Williams first trip out to Woodcreek, where I am sure he will spend many afternoons to come in the next years of his life. Walks grew up out there and I'm sure William will enjoy it as much as Walks did, especially with all of his cousins, aunts and uncles!

We love you to pieces baby boy and look forward to the next 3 months. You're our angel!!!!! Love, Mama and Daddy

Emory Anne Prepares for Sisterhood

2008-03-17T14:28:00.002-04:00

How cute are these pictures of Emory Anne feeding William?!?! As you saw from a few posts ago, Emory Anne helped Leslie feed William, but if you see below, she actually fed him by herself! She did not want any help--so we let her hold him. Does it get any cuter than this?

William will let you feed him anytime you want to Emory Anne!!!

Pete & Mary Ann meet William

2008-03-17T14:07:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures from the visit Uncle Pete and Aunt Mary Ann made a few weeks ago. Sorry I'm so late in posting these! We had a great visit and William enjoyed meeting his great aunt and uncle from Virginia...we look forward to your next visit :)

WAM, Mimi and Caroline
Walks and WAM
William and Mary Ann

Before Baby Bell #2

2008-03-12T21:49:00.004-04:00

Gene and Haley decided they wanted to have people over one last time before they arrival of Baby Bell #2. Everyone was so sweet and brought over either a casserole or diapers...what a great idea. We'll have to do that in the future for everybody else--how wondeful!!
Luckily, Leslie, the greatest baby holder and lover ever was there to snuggle with little WAM. He loves his aunt Lel. Ariail was SO sweet too and held William for a long time, giving me a nice break from baby-holding :) Thanks!!!

Emory Anne pushing T around the Mickey Mouse car. I don't know that he got off that thing all night!

Kiki and Emory Anne

Leslie was feeding William and Emory Anne just had to help. She's going to be the best big sister!

Not so sure that this is what Tombo wants to see T doing...pushing a baby stroller around. Maybe that is how he will help Anna out when she has baby #2 next week :)

We had a great time and thank Haley and Gene again for a wonderful night!!! Can't wait to meet Baby Bell #2!!!!

Nelson

2008-03-11T22:08:00.003-04:00

As you all know I am so far behind on posting and I promise to update sometime tomorrow. But for now I am posting my sad news that my cat was hit by a car today and died. I know that nobody wants to hear sad news, but this will make me feel better to give him a mini-tribute on the blog :)

Nelson, even though you were peeing in William's room, I was SO allergic to you and that you drove us crazy wanting to come in and out of the house a MILLION times a day, I would never have wished this to happen to you. I miss you already!

You were loved little Nelly boy--enjoy heaven with all of my other cats that are there--it's quite a list (needless to say, we won't be getting another one--I have a track record with running them off)!

T's house

2008-03-01T12:57:00.005-05:00

Anna was nice enought to invite me and William over for dinner on Friday night. It gave me someone to talk to other than the dog. Walks has been in McClellanville since Tuesday and won't be home until Monday--it's been nice being able to keep the house clean, picked up and all the laundry done since he's been gone, but we really do miss him! Here are a few pictures of William from last night and he was wearing one of T's outfits.

William 10 weeks old

How precious is he?!

T wearing this outfit when he was 6 months old

Family dinner

2008-02-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

Wednesday night I had Dad, Hunter and Hannah over for dinner--per Dad's request, we had homemade pizzas which is one of our favorites! Just a few pictures from the night...

Uncle Hunter loves his little William

CiCi and Hannah

This is one of Hannah's favorite places to read--propped up against one of the dogs!

2 month check-up

2008-02-28T12:03:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we FINALLY went to William's 2 month check-up. His stats:
Height: 23" (60th percentile)
Weight: 12lbs 4oz (75th percentile)
Head: 15 3/4 (not so sure how that measures up)
Anyway, she said he's doing great. She asked if we were doing tummy time and I said we do it every day and I told her that he rolled over last week (when he was 9 1/2 weeks old)- she said that was great! Go WAM!!
He's been spitting up a lot more in the past few weeks so we're going up the dose of medicine he gets and hopefully that will help. As of yesterday he has a new schedule. He's going to get 5 6ounce bottles a day instead of 6 bottles. We're dropping the 10 o'clock feeding. He did great last night- went down at 9 and slept until 7. I just knew he would wake up in the middle of the night hungry, but he slep on through. I'm sure I won't be that lucky every night, but I would rather wake up once in the middle of the night, then have him up until 10:30. I'm about to start getting my nights back- yeah!!!
A few things:
-He's giving us HUGE smiles and he wants to laugh, but we're not quite there yet.
-Monday we start school (Aunt Pam's house).
-He's eaten at Mr. Friendly's 9 or 10 times now. It's his favorite like his parents and grandparents :)
-Scoots all around town with me every day and is totally okay with it.

We are blessed with such a wonderful baby who we love more and more every day!

Obsessed

2008-02-20T21:36:00.005-05:00

I'm officially obsessed with this little boy. He is so stinking cute and to me he's PERFECT!!! At 2 months old, he is still like he was at 2 days old...very alert, a non-crier, happy to be held, but equally as happy to just lie down on the couch, activity mat or in his crib. He loves to look at his mobile (15 minutes is about his max!), the ceiling fan or me when I'm making funny faces and talking to him. Now that Walks is home (with a hurt knee), Walks is starting to get to spend more time with William and he's getting a lot of response out of him and LOVING IT!!!
If William's temperament stays like it is now, we are going to have one laid back, fun little boy on our hands. He is such a joy and we know just how blessed we are!
Notes to remember:
-Sleeps 2 out of 3 nights from 11 to 7
-Started smiling BIG at 8 weeks
-Stands up when we burp him. He's so strong, it's hard to get him to sit on your knee
-Moved to 6 ounces at 8 weeks and has 6 bottles a day- 7, 10, 1, 4, 7, 10
-Will fall asleep with ANY amount of noise and ANY place when he's tired
-Loves his paci

I'm looking forward to the next 2 months to see what's to come!! I love you baby boy!

So I don't forget...

2008-02-13T21:21:00.002-05:00

William slept from 10:30 until 7:00 on Monday night (8 weeks old). But last night he woke up once @ 5:00 before he got up for good.
He is still just as precious and sweet as he can be. We are getting a lot of smiles out of him and thank God every day for such a wonderful little boy!!
I will try to get more post up, but sometimes it's not what you want to do when you have a free minute. If my camera worked all the time, I would probably have more pictures to post too, but sometimes I'll grab it and it won't work. I need a point and shoot--this big Nikon D70 is nice, but sometimes it's too big and too much.

Congratulations Tricia and Adam!!!

2008-02-13T08:59:00.003-05:00

Tricia and Adam just found out yesterday that they are having a baby boy. His name will be Brent "Porter" Yount. We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Baby Yount in June! (I have added a link to her new blog)

Almost 8 weeks old

2008-02-10T21:16:00.000-05:00

William is getting SO BIG and he's starting to coo and smile a lot...those are the two biggest changes in the past week. He is just as cute as he's always been and getting cuter by the day! I can't wait to go pick him up from his crib every morning. He might be crying hard, but once I pick him up, he just stares at me and it makes me realize how much he loves me (and of course Walks too, but I'm usually the one to get him out of his crib in the morning)!
Like I said here, we don't have another doctor's appointment until February 27th, so I don't know how much he weighs, but he is definitely growing like a weed. He is much longer and his cheeks are proof that he's bigger.
Here are a few pictures from the last week:

Sleep

2008-02-02T17:54:00.001-05:00

William ate at 10:30 on Thursday night and woke up at 6:15. I fed him and he went back to sleep and woke up at 8:00. It was fabulous.

Upset

2008-01-31T16:09:00.000-05:00

So I called Sandhills today to make William's 8 week check-up appointment. I let them know what I was calling for and they said, "oh, his 2 month check-up". Well let me tell you, there is almost a weeks difference in the child being 8 weeks and 2 months old and at this point, it makes a difference to me (we'll get to that in a minute). So she asked if I had a day and/or time preference and I said no--she comes back with the date of February 28th. And I said "is that the earliest appointment you have available?" She said, "oh, actally there is one earlier, it's on the 27th (well don't do me any favors!). My issue is that I'm dying to get to the athletic club and as much as people are willing to keep my child (thanks to all of those who already have), nobody wants to keep a child for a mother who just wants to exercise...I mean, come on. Get over it momma. The 8 week date would be February 12th and the 2 month would be 6 days later on the 18th. So basically, because of my lack of brains to make the appointment earlier or for Sandhills to have more appointment times available, I cannot hit CAC until February 28th or later...boo, hiss, I'm pissed.
(I guess this goes without saying, but you can't take a child to a nursery type of setting until they have their shots).
So, I guess I will continue to try to eat healthy, like I have been, but looks like I've got another month before my waistline even thinks about starting to shrink...wah wah...

Wade Todd Leventis

2008-01-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Meagan and Todd on the birth of Wade. We are so excited to meet him (hopefully one day soon)! He was born January 25th at 1:04 and weighed 8lbs 12ozs. What a handsome little boy!

6 weeks old

2008-01-29T11:37:00.000-05:00

I don't have much to say since my last big post, but I do want to let you know that today William is in his first 3-6 month outfit. I'm hoping that this one just happens to run small- I don't think we can move into 0-3 month clothes for only 2 weeks and then jump into 3-6 so soon. But I do have an eater on my hands!!!!
Here's my hunk of love...
YESTERDAY

TODAY

Just Pictures

2008-01-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

Big Update

2008-01-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

I still have not bought a baby book and feel like I need to write some things down that I don't want to forget. So this is really for me to reference once I do get a baby book.
William was born on a Tuesday, we were out of the hospital on Friday, the 21st. We made our first trip out of the house on Sunday, the 23rd. Walks, William and I went to the Mote's house to celebrate Virginia's birthday. Walks took William back home and Mom and I headed to Target for a much needed trip for some essentials. That was the day that I started to have problems nursing. We bought nipple shields, a nursing shirt and lots of other baby paraphernalia while we were at Target.
I kept trying to nurse William, but after being supplemented with formula (obviously out of a bottle), he ended up having trouble latching back onto me. I tried to pump, but my milk wouldn't let down. I think the last day he nursed me was Sunday, the 23rd- that was a very sad day for me, but at the same time, I'm very glad I was at least able to nurse for 6 days. It took me about a day to realize how lucky I was that Walks was going to be able to feed William.
Christmas Eve--We went to the Umbach's house for a Christmas Eve party. We got to meet William's second cousin, John Grove. He is 7 weeks older than William and they will eventually be together a lot at school (Aunt Pam's house). After we left the Umbach's we stopped by Susan and Robbie Bowers' house for their annual Christmas party. Of course Sara, Susan and Robbie all held and fed William while we were there.
Christmas Day (One week old)- We went to Mimi and Grandaddy's house Christmas morning and spent our first Christmas with William. My Nana and Grandad (William's great grandparents) met WAM for the first time that day. We relaxed Chistmas afternoon and then went to the Mote's house Christmas night. Our first Christmas with William was very laid back and relaxing.
Probably sometime around Christmas is when William moved up from eating 2 ounces to 3 ounces per feeding. By the time he was 4 weeks old, we moved up to eating 5 ounces. He was 7lbs 2 ozs when he was born, dropped down to 6lbs 8ozs and at 5 1/2 weeks old, is now 10lbs 6ozs. He doesn't miss a meal or an ounce at any feeding!
He ate every 3 hours from the beginning so we had 8 feedings a day. He was probably 3 weeks old when he dropped one of the night feedings (around 1 o'clock). We're down to 7 feedings a day and this is his typical schedule:
Wakes up at 7:30 and has first bottle
10:30 am
1:30 pm
4:30 pm
7:30 pm
10:30 pm- Goes to bed after this feeding
4:00 am
7:30 am- Up for good
When he eats at 4 in the morning, he goes right back down- we hear a few squeaks, but there is not any night time crying. He has never cried at bedtime or in the middle of the night. AND YES, WE DO REALIZE HOW LUCKY WE ARE!!!!!!
He started to hold his head up right away, but he is really starting to hold it up well at 5 weeks. He has smiled (not gas related) for about a week now. Today has been a day for a lot of smiles--they are in response to me getting close to his face and making noises and saying "hey" in that typical Momma voice. :)
He took his first vacation when he was 4 weeks old. Walks and I went to DeBordieu to GrandAnne's beach house. We headed down Thursday and spent the night, just the three of us. On Friday we were joined by Mimi and Grandaddy, Gene, Haley and Emory Anne and James and Mary Dameron. They stayed through Sunday and then the three of us left Monday.
While in DeBordieu, William made his first appearance in a bar (I swear I'm not a bad Mom). It was Saturday afternoon and the guys headed to Georgetown to a Festival and ended up in the Big Tuna. The girls went to Pawleys for a little shopping then headed to Georgetown to wrap it up. We met the guys at the Big Tuna and we stayed there for about an hour. He might have been the youngest baby ever to go to the Big Tuna (let me say that we were in a non-smoking room).
Sunday, January 21st (while we were still at the beach), I started to notice spitting up while he was eating. We finally called the doctor about it Tuesday, went in to see her on Friday and she told us to change formula to Enfamil A.R. and we started Zantac for some reflux. This has seemed to help so far- hopefully this will keep him feeling good. While we were at the doctor's office, I told Dr. Rickenmann that William was making a hiccup/squeaking funny kind of noise sometimes and she said it was something to do with the larynx and his windpipe having floppy cartilage. He will eventually grow out of it and there is no remedy/cure or any risk involved, so for now we wil listen to our little man squeak. It's cute now, but very curious to those who have never heard it!
William has spent a lot of time on the go over the past 5 weeks. We like to get out of the house and our favorite two places to go are Target and Publix. If we're not there, we might be at Coldwell Banker. We've had lunch with both sets of Great-Grandparents, eaten 2 or 3 meals at Mr. Friendly's, and had a few other miscellaneous lunches with friends.
I'm going to try to keep up with this a little better from now on, but sometimes it's hard to sit down and think about writing things down.
I love you little William-you continue to bring us so much joy and happiness every day!

Meghan's Wedding

2008-01-26T23:06:00.000-05:00

So tonight we celebrated one of our team member's weddings...CONGRATULATIONS Meghan and Josh! Meghan Suddeth and Josh Hesley got married tonight and I couldn't be more excited and sad at the same time. I'm excited that Meghan is married and is going to have the time of her life, but sad that we're losing her to the big city of ATL. We are going to miss her SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Team Franklin will not be the same without the "life of the party". She's the one that gives us our laughs throughout the day- we will miss you more than you know Meghan!
Let's give her one final WHAH WHAH...
Love, Caroline (WAM's mom)
(by the way, I think Meghan was one of the most beautiful bride's I've ever seen!!)

Crazy Meghan!!!!

5 weeks old

2008-01-22T23:40:00.001-05:00

Still no new pictures obviously, but I did want to post a few things. These are really for me (so I don't forget) and might be boring to you.
William slept from 10:30 until 5:30 last night. WOW! I figured he would sleep three hours after that, but like clockwork, he was up at 7:30. Anytime between 7 and 7:30 is the magic number for him to wake up. He usually goes back down around 8:30 or 9 for a few more hours (until the next feeding). Then he is in and out of naps throughout the day- there is not a sleeping schedule yet, but he is on an every three hour eating schedule. It's very predictable, but that makes our day easier to plan. And we like to be on the go, so it's nice to know when he will be hungry again so I can prepare!
Our little man is still so stinking cute and GOOD. He is so fun to watch- if he's not sleeping, he's typically very content wherever he is. He likes to stare at lights and of course, like every baby out there, is totally drawn to ceiling fans. He is starting to focus on things pretty quickly and will give us a smile every once in awhile. I'm still waiting on THAT ONE SMILE that you know is in response to his happiness and because of his mom or dad making him happy.
Walks is still the most wonderful father and loves his boy so so much. He is great about handling William in the morning so I can get another hour of sleep. And that is huge! I know he will enjoy fatherhood more and more everyday- he wants to take bites out of his little "buttercup" just like I do- the amount of love is amazing.
William, we love you to pieces and can't imagine life without you. Thank you for making our wonderful family of two into the most amazing family of three!!!!

One Month

2008-01-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been one whole month since I was in the hospital giving birth to the most wonderful baby boy in the whole world! I can't believe it's been a month already- time flies when you're having fun. And I am having so much fun being a mom- it's just the best feeling in the world having someone who couldn't live without you. William has been such a joy- he's everything I could have asked for and ten times more.
We are spending William's one month birthday in DeBordieu. Walks, William, and I got here yesterday and we're waiting on the rest of the crew to show up sometime this afternoon. Mimi is so looking forward to holding Sweet William this weekend and I'm sure Granddaddy will fight her for some time too. They have enjoyed their grandson SO MUCH and would see him every day if they could (they almost do!).
(Pictures to come this afternoon- or in a few minutes if I can get them loaded in quickly before he wakes up)

Work sitters

2008-01-17T00:05:00.000-05:00

This is a pictures of William's Aunt Kara from my office. We've gone into the office a few times and luckily Kara has been there to hold little William and let me do a few things. She is an absolutely WONDERFUL baby sitter- she is the biggest baby lover I know, even more than Leslie and Sara!!! (Sorry Lel- she's more obsessed than you and Sara put together)
Here is sweet Kara holding my so stinking cute boy or as Walks would say, his "Buttercup".

I'm so behind...

2008-01-16T23:47:00.000-05:00

So, I swear I'm going to try to be better about keeping up with blogging, but I promise I think about it daily! I'm about to fall on my face I'm so tired, but I'll attach a few pictures.
Everything is still absolutely wonderful with William- as you can see from the ticker, he is 4 weeks and 1 day--in 2 days he'll be a month- WOW! Time has flown by and you can tell from the pictures how much he has grown...he has a double chin now. Like mother and father, like son!
We're headed to the beach tomorrow with some family and will hopefully get some good pictures there- by the way, how do you dress a tiny child when the low is 22 degrees and they don't quite make jackets small enough to fit him?!?!

Loving on Sweet William

Playtime (we try to at least get him to enjoy this for 5-10 minutes!)

Hunter loves his nephew!!!

HANNAH BOO! I haven't included any pictures of her in awhile. She has always been so cute to me, but as she gets older, her personality really is coming out and she is PRECIOUS!!! She makes us laugh every minute we're with her. Of course part of that is b/c she'll copy anything you say or tell her to do. It's great!!

Just pictures of cute William

2008-01-08T11:57:00.000-05:00

William's Visitors

2008-01-07T17:14:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures of visitors William and I had in the hospital. (for some reason the pictures don't pull up until it's posted on the blog, so I'm not able to put a caption above or below the pictures to tell who they are)
I can at least tell you that Sara and Susan Bowers are below and two members of Team Franklin, Meghan and Amy. Thanks for the visits and gifts--you know how much William will love all of y'all!!!

Tomorrow makes 3 weeks...

2008-01-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

It is so hard to believe that tomorrow we will have had William for 3 weeks now. We don't know what we did before we had our precious boy around- I think we might have been lazy?! No time for that now!
Things are going great. He still is the BEST sleeper- he goes between 3 and 5 hours at night and 3 hours during the day. Walks feeds William every chance he gets- and of course I'm up during the night letting Daddy catch some zzzs before he goes to work.

Daddy and his boy

2007-12-27T11:04:00.001-05:00

Walks has absolutely loved the past week with William. I always knew Walks would be a great Dad, but I never knew how much he would enjoy spending time with his child. He has been a tremendous help to me and I know how much William will enjoy all the time he gets to spend with his Dad as he gets older. Thank you Walks for all you've done...William and I couldn't do it without you!!!!

9 days old...

2007-12-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe it's already been 9 days since we brought William into the world. It has been unbelievable so far and I can only imagine how much we have to look forward to!
I'm scared to even report, because it might be too early to declare this, but we have a GREAT baby. He sleeps and eats and MAYBE he'll cry when he gets his diaper changed, but usually he is as happy as can be.
He has been sleeping in his crib since the first night we got home. He looks like such a pea in that big crib, but we decided this would be the best for all of us. I don't know that a 9 day old can like something or not, but so far he likes his crib. He goes down, wakes up every 3-4 hours with a little cry, we feed him and he's back to sleep in the crib. What a blessing!!!!
His umbilical cord scab fell off on Monday and he finally got his first real bath yesterday. At first he wasn't so sure, but by the end, he had warmed up to it. Of course he decided to tinkle and burp a "loaded" burp while he was getting his bath, but I figured that was all too convenient...we just re-washed his little body! Here are a few pictures from this event.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2007-12-25T07:32:00.001-05:00

I know I have needed to update since we got home 4 days ago, but as you can imagine, we've been busy. I will start to get some pictures, etc up as the days go on. Here is one quick one from yesterday.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Love, Caroline, Walks & William

Baby William!

2007-12-20T14:18:00.001-05:00

William and Mommy are doing great! He is precious and continuing to make everyone fall in love with him! Caroline is looking great and is a wonderful mom! They will be going home from the hospital tomorrow and are looking forward to gettting settled in with the new addtion!

William Arthur Milliken!

2007-12-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

Sweet baby William was born right before 6pm weighing in at 7lbs 2oz and 19 inches long! Mommy and baby are doing great! Daddy, grandparents, aunts and uncles are all so excited and so glad William is finally here!! He is just adorable and so very loved!

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It's time!!

2007-12-17T13:05:00.001-05:00

I'm going to the hospital today @ 5:00. The actual induction will start tomorrow morning. I (or somebody) will keep everybody posted as to Baby Milliken's arrival, stats, pictures, etc. Can't wait for everyone to meet our new little one!!!!

DUE DATE, BUT NO BABY!!!!

2007-12-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

No baby yet...I have a doctor appt @ 11:00. I will update this afternoon!!!!!
Caroline

Feeling rough

2007-12-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry to all of you who have called that I have not called back yet. I just don't feel good and I really don't feel like complaining on the phone to everyone that calls. I could lie and say I'm fine, but honestly, I am VERY uncomfortable. I'm obviously up at 11:30, listening to Walks snore, wishing I was in my own bed instead of the guest bed (which is due to last minute hardwoods that got refinished today in own bedroom). That was not intentional, but when we ripped the carpet out of our bedroom Saturday morning, the surprise was that the original carpet pad was glued to floor. Needless to say, we had to refinish floors to get glue/pad/funk off. My house smells like poly, the dog needs a bath and I need a baby.
I promise I have enjoyed your messages, emails, etc and I will keep you posted if something happens, but in the meantime, I just can't talk to anyone without complaining and let's be honest, who wants to hear that?!
But I'm SO EXCITED to have a new baby soon and to find out WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love to all of you great friends who care so much, C-line